This application claims the priority of German Patent Application Serial No. 100 14 766.6, filed Mar. 27, 2000, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates, in general, to a steam pressure cooker.
A steam pressure cooker is known having a pot with a horizontal pouring rim, which is angled outwards. A lid can be placed upon the pot for closing the pot. Positioned between lid and pot is a rubberized elastic sealing element. At least two moveable clamps, spaced evenly about the circumference, embrace and thereby clamp the lid and the pouring rim, when the steam pressure cooker is closed, and clear the pouring rim, when the steam pressure cooker is opened. The clamps and lid are covered by a cap which has a handle attached thereon.
European Pat. No. EP 0 691 097 B1 describes a device for controlling the opening and closing of clamp jaws for locking the lid upon a pot, whereby the clamp jaws are radially moveable and attached to a lid via engagement arms, which in turn are radially moveable. The control mechanism has a control element which is moveable at the lid in a substantially radial direction by a predetermined distance between a first position in which the clamp jaws are in the locking position and a second position in which the clamp jaws are in the disengaged position. This construction is very complicated and thus prone to high maintenance.
European Pat. No. EP 0 691 096 B1 describes a similar device, in which the clamp jaws are locked by means of a valve plug which can move to upper or lower positions in dependence on a pressure in the pot.
European Pat. No. EP 0 139 772 B1 describes a steam pressure cooker having a lid assembly comprised of a lower lid portion and an upper lid portion, with the upper lid portion having two half-lids which are turnable relative to the lower lid and lower pot around an axis of rotation that is parallel to the vertical, geometric central axis of the pot, wherein the axes of rotation are eccentric to the central axis, and in relation to the central axis are diametrically opposite to each other in a rotation part which is rotatably mounted centrally in the lower lid. When opened, the two half-lids execute a semicircular movement corresponding to their eccentric position on the rotation part, until the crimping of the lid assembly no longer grips underneath the rim of the pot. This type of steam pressure cooker is also very complex.
European Pat. No. EP 0 108 203 B1 describes a steam pressure cooker including a cap which grips underneath the rim in overlapping relationship and bears against a seal on the underside of the rim in such a way that the relative position of the cap and seal under the pressure inside the pot and because of the sealing action and frictional resistance, prevents the opening actuation of the locking elements by the cap, and only allows opening when there is low residual pressure because of raising of the cap from the seal.
German Pat. No. DE 40 26 166 A1 and international publication WO 92/03080 describe a steam pressure cooker in which a control button is mounted on the lid for axial movement. When the control button is moved axially in the closing direction, the locking segments are pulled radially inwards into the locking position. In this way, the cooking pot can be closed manually by pressing the control button.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved steam pressure cooker which obviates prior art shortcomings and which can be opened and closed with one hand while being of simple structure and easy to maintain.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a steam pressure cooker, includes a pot with a horizontal pouring rim angled outwards; a lid placed upon the pot for closing the pot; a rubberized elastic seal positioned between the lid and the pot; at least two moveable clamps, arranged peripherally in even spaced-apart relationship, for embracing and thereby clamping the lid and the pouring rim, when the steam pressure cooker is closed, and clearing the pouring rim, when the steam pressure cooker is opened; a cap for covering the clamps and the lid; a handle placed upon the cap, and comprised of two handle parts, with one handle part connected to the cap and the other handle part connected to the lid, wherein an opening of the steam pressure cooker is implemented through actuation of the handle to thereby effect a coaxial rotation of the cap relative to the lid between two end positions, whereby in one end position the clamps, which are positioned in their respective horizontal plane between the lid and the cap, are moved outwards, until the pouring rim is cleared for opening the steam pressure cooker; and a tip clamping mechanism for securing the cap relative to the lid in the end positions.
Thus, an easy-to-use, one-handed operational and, to a great extent, maintenance-free mechanical system is created, which enables the steam pressure cooker to be easily opened and closed as well as easily maintained.
According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a conversion element for moving the clamps. Conversion elements are functional elements that, within a functional flow, assume the task to change the magnitude and direction of specific parameters, such as path, angle of rotation, speed and acceleration, in dependence on the task at hand. In the present case, the conversion element translates the movement initiated in the handle into a movement of the clamps.
According to another feature of the present invention, the conversion element may be a sliding gear having a driving pin positioned on the lid and a driving pin arranged under the cap for sliding engagement in complementary slots in the clamps. Such construction can easily be realized and is substantially error-proof or fail-proof, making it suitable for use in a steam pressure cooker. Suitably, each clamp has two slots.
According to another feature of the present invention, the tip clamping mechanism may include a preloaded spring and hinge pins positioned on the lid and underneath the cap. This tip clamping mechanism holds the cap relative to the lid in the desired end position. A tip clamping mechanism is a spring-loaded gear with a limited range of movement. In the tilted position, the spring tension reaches a maximum, while the gear is in a labile equilibrium.
According to another feature of the present invention, the coaxial rotation of the cap can be realized by pressing together the handle parts of the handle. This enables ergonomic operation of the steam pressure cooker. The user only needs to press together the two handle parts in order to close and open the lid.